


table for two

by ikeracity



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-10 17:15:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15296271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ikeracity/pseuds/ikeracity
Summary: Erik doesn't show up for their date. Charles is obviously a bit worried by this and calls him to see what's up.





	table for two

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bikenesmith](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bikenesmith/gifts).
  * Translation into 中文 available: [一张两人桌 | table for two](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16019645) by [Amaranth42](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amaranth42/pseuds/Amaranth42)
  * Inspired by [exhausted dadneto art](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/397908) by bikenesmith. 
  * In response to a prompt by [bikenesmith](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bikenesmith/pseuds/bikenesmith) in the [xmen_remix_madness2018](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/xmen_remix_madness2018) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Safe work, if any (no limit):  
> http://bikenesmith.tumblr.com/tagged/the-au  
> http://bikenesmith.tumblr.com/post/165852531325/doodles-of-my-bfs-xmfc-mid-2000s-middle-school  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/13535664
> 
> Previous remixes, if any: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11306247  
> I am okay with my X-Men comics/original movie trilogy/cartoon works being remixed: yes  
> I am okay with my collaborations being remixed: no  
> I am okay with being remixed in a different medium (fic for art or art for fic): yes  
> I am okay with my past remixes being remixed: n/a  
> I am okay with certain WIPs being remixed: yes

In his junior year of high school, Charles had asked tall, handsome, cheery-eyed Oliver Hunt out on a date and had subsequently sat for three hours in the agreed-upon restaurant desperately ordering appetizers and trying not to look anxious and pathetic as he waited and waited and waited. Everyone around him had realized he was being stood up long before he had, and by the time he’d finally admitted defeat and asked for the bill, the restaurant manager had felt so bad for him she’d comped his meal.  

Charles had grown a little wiser after that. That was the first and only time he’d ever been stood up.

Until now, that was.

It was past 6:30. They’d agreed to meet at six. Charles had already gone through a plate of chips and queso. He’d texted Erik and received no reply.

Unlike with Oliver, he was more worried than hurt though. He and Erik had been dating for almost three months now, and he knew Erik wasn’t the kind of man to just ghost him. He also wasn’t the kind of man to forget appointments.

The waitress came by, refilled Charles’s water glass, and asked if he’d like to order yet. Charles told her he was still waiting and ignored her gentle, pitying look. Once she’d moved over to the adjacent table, he pulled out his phone and dialed Erik’s number.

The line rang and rang and went to voicemail. “Hi, Erik,” Charles said, “it’s me. I was just wondering where you were. I’m at our usual table. See you soon? Please call me.”

He hung up and couldn’t resist calling again a minute later. Maybe Erik had been in the bathroom. Maybe he’d forgotten his phone somewhere. Maybe—

“Hello?”

Charles paused, startled. That was most certainly not Erik’s voice. “Er, hello. Who’s this?”

“This is Wanda.”

“Oh! Wanda!” That was the name of Erik’s older daughter. Charles hadn’t met any of Erik’s children yet, but he knew their names, ages, and faces. Erik had been showing him pictures of them. “Hello there. I’m Charles. I’m, um, I’m a friend of your father’s.”

“You’re Papa’s boyfriend,” Wanda said matter-of-factly.

“Oh, he, er, he told you that?” Erik had said from the beginning that he wanted to be open and honest with his kids about their relationship, but for some reason Charles still hadn’t expected Wanda to be so candid about it.

“Yes,” Wanda said. She sounded very decisive for a ten-year-old.

“Well, Wanda, would you happen to know where your father is at the moment? I’ve been trying to reach him for the last half an hour or so…”

“He’s sleeping.”

“He’s…sleeping?”

“Yes. Want me to show you?”

“Show me?”

A moment later, his phone buzzed with a video call. Bemused, he picked up and saw Wanda’s giggling face a moment before she turned the phone and focused it on Erik.

He was slumped over on the kitchen table in a wrinkled t-shirt and jeans, his head pillowed awkwardly on one arm, his other arm dangling loosely at his side. A stuffed bear sat beside him on the table, and there was a stain on his shoulder that looked suspiciously like jam. His hair was rumpled, and he looked utterly exhausted. Even through the shaky video, Charles could hear him snoring softly.

He looked like an absolute mess. Charles thought, _Oh god, I love him._

“He’s been sleeping _for-ever_ ,” Wanda whispered loudly. She giggled again and turned the camera back toward herself. She had Erik’s same lean face and auburn hair—the resemblance was almost uncanny. “Want me to wake him up?”

“No, no,” Charles said. He knew how Erik doted on his children; it was no surprise that the three of them left him exhausted. No doubt he needed as much sleep as he could get, whenever he could get it. “Let him sleep.” He smiled. “Please just tell him to call me when he wakes up.”

“’Kay!”

He wasn’t sure if Wanda meant to hang up or if her finger just fumbled over the phone, but a moment later, the call disconnected. With a fond sigh, Charles ran a hand through his hair and then flagged down the waitress to ask for the check. Maybe next time he’d ask Erik to come over to his place instead of going out. Maybe Erik could enjoy a proper nap in Charles’s bed, which was much more comfortable than a kitchen table.

“Sorry,” the waitress said as she handed him the receipt and a pen. “Getting stood up sucks. I’m sure you’ll find someone better.”

Charles smiled and scribbled out a generous tip. “Actually, I don’t think I will.”   


End file.
